Collaboration Tools Woefully Ineffective, Says IT Pros

While three quarters of IT and facilities leaders say their senior and line-of-business executives are putting moderate to extreme pressure on them to create or implement innovative collaboration solutions for employees, information workers find in-office technologies stunted and ineffective, according to a new study by Forrester Research commissioned by Prysm, a provider of cloud-based interactive workspaces.

For the study, Forrester conducted two online surveys of workers at large organizations (1,000 or more employees) in the U.S. and the U.K.: one of 200 IT and facilities professionals and the other of 800 information workers. The study began in February 2016 and was completed in March 2016.

Among the key findings: 88% of IT leaders say improving employee productivity is one of the top priorities or a high priority, compared with only 47% of workers who say that; 74% of IT leaders say fostering employee collaboration is a priority, while just 31% of workers feel the same; and 72% of IT leader say fostering innovation is a priority while only 39% of workers feel their companies are making it a priority.

They research also shows that workers do not define work as a “place” anymore, and it has changed the way they work and what tools they need at their disposal. Nearly all workers surveyed reported challenges with their company’s collaboration application and technology tools.